study for shoes movement.

another study for a video im making. trying to figure out the movements, point of view, timing. the video will change but this is part of the music that i will probably end up using.

garbage studies I-IV

i made some studies today of a series i was thinking about doing: stop motion animations of found objects (mostly piles of junk people are throwing out) i find around town. to break it down a little further, the objects move around a lot but never really go anywhere. i guess this is something i feel im experiencing, or my family is experiencing, or just the general acknowledgement that this is something everyone at some time experiences. not to get too deep or anything... its just trash.

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IV.

while in iruya, we walked through clouds to san isidro.

these fotos were taken from a backpacking trip i went on while staying in salta. im writing some recollections. this was back in april and i remember it being one of my best experiences during my time in argentina. i was staying in the province of salta and decided to travel some along a line of cities that eventually lead to the border of argentina and bolivia; one of the quebrada's. and i remember leaving alone and feeling a bit solitary as it can sometimes be but that feeling soon fled because these moments are all transitory and lead to something else in time. as i made my way through each city (there were 5 in total) i made friends along the way and we began travelling with one another. by the time i arrived in iruya, the last on the line, we were a group of 12.

iruya is a small town that sits upon a hill. there is a bus that leaves a couple times a day that can take you out there and i was always amazed to see people getting off to go home along the way but never seeing any homes in site. its a place where you hike along rocks and hills in order to arrive get where you need to be. from iruya theres another city that lies along another cerro but there are no bus routes. its a hike or donkey ride away. it's an even smaller town named san isidro. its about a 3 hour hike along a river and when the river floods, along the mountain side. i went with some fellow travellers, we were 6 total.

this trip, specifically san isidro, is what made me want to stay down here longer. living in buenos aires isnt the same as travelling through these small towns. this is something i crave more of. i have never seen a culture so virgin before. its the most untouched place ive visited and even with that i found the ironies that it was still evident that we travellers have begun to invade this space. while close to arriving we came across a boy who was walking home from school. he lived on the neighboring cerro (which is something between hill and mountain). everyday he walked to and from school. we had walked by his family's home. they had goats and peaches drying on their rooftop. he was shy so we didnt talk much. when we asked him his name he told us his name was wilson. how interesting, no? an uncommon name in latin america, even more unusual in a remote town neighboring nothing but nature. and occasional tourists.

the day wasnt the ideal day to go but it was incredible. it was cold and a bit rainy; the clouds were low. as we walked along the paths rising to the city we began walking through clouds. it was like the remote mystical place and i remember we were all really excited about this adventure. we stayed the night in a hostel, there was only one. i forget the name but it was the name of the owner. we ate all their food and drank cognac to stay warm. this city has no electricity or running water but instead has solar panels to help light the school and church and another metal contraption that is used to cook food. (fotos below). and i remember thinking how unique and incredible and strange. that here we are in this town that by modern standards would be considered backwards and uncivilized and here they have the widesst, warmest smiles i had ever seen and environmentally sound energy sources.

while sitting along the river the next day with a friend i began fantasizing what it would be like to let go of my plans to return back a little while longer and extend my travels some. that was how i decided to stay. we walked up along another cerro, undressed by the river and worked on artisan crafts. along we way down i said good day to an old woman who was picking apples above us along the rise of the land. she smiled, her skin was like leather, and she began dropping down fresh apples to us. we were hungry and looking for food and just by saying good day she shared with us what she had. theres this other side to humanity that i dont think we see enough of but when we cross cultures or enter new spaces, sometimes it is naturally there and ready to be shared.

the hostel was owned by a family and cooked us all the empanadas they had in order to feed us. we played truco (a local card game) by candle light until we fell asleep sharing stories about walking through clouds. there was a young girl, the daughter who was about 3, named erica. she was so adorable and gracious and had full cheeks. i remember wanting to take fotos of her but not doing so, as a fear of disrespect. i sometimes have a confliction over where the boundary lies between documenting and exploiting. i decided not to fotograph a child but the next morning when she saw my camera she begged to have her foto taken! i was excited. i had given her a Tita (chocolate graham cookie) and she was delighted. i posted a foto of her with the cookie then one she took my myself and a friend, framed by her dirty fingers.

these are some thoughts, some memories worth posting. not the most articulate but maybe i can change things up sometime and post my actual journal entry when i have it handy.
s.

tia abuela olga's place. salta

some fotos i took while in salta. its been a while, but im trying to upload some chronicles of my time here; documentation of spaces ive occupied. i spent a month with my great aunt while visiting my family in salta (northern argentina). fotos of her were taken on my manual camera and havent been scanned yet. so heres some atmosphere. im going to start posting some random bulks of fotos in the future to create a better online database.
s.

i feel a bit placeless. i went home one day to find the toilet in my apartment uprooted and in my living space. its been at least a month and still hasnt been repaired. nor has it been coherently explained to me how this happened.

so ive been bouncing around a bit but mostly staying with my godparents. though it seems to me my mess- making is best for private spaces and id like to go back to my studio where i feel comfortable and have a kitchen-ette, and three beds ready to house friends at whatever hours. i like the 70s decor, the fake-furbee stuffed animals, partly broken typewriter, ghetto boombox and old fotos of my landlord's family.

there are other places that have been homes to me: my grandmothers, my aunt's, my other aunt/uncle/ cousins place. these homes i havent had much time to visit recently. so here comes the countdown, less than a month now. and a long list of things i swear to myself i have to get done before leaving. i wish to remain connected with my family but there is a present fight between obligations and needs. as well as subconcsious contiuums acting out distance, purposely placing some space between myself and my familiarities. some sort of weening process that i need to overturn otherwise my take off will be all the more unsettling and regretful. my departure hasnt hit me in full effect yet but here's my new list. ive had many, but im serious now. this month isnt getting pushed aside like the last six.

things id like to do and things i should have already done with the time thats left-
record family history.
start my citizenship process.
find passport!!!
cash paycheck (when i find passport)
finish stop motion video series + photo series
record music with friends
visit salta, visit farm...!!??
get tattoo.

feaseable?? im tired and my heads clogged. going home and potentially starting school a month afterwards is now seeming like a difficult time frame. but going home still seems good to me, i think im ready for something new or old. or re-newed.

la familia, el cumple de abuela!

tambien hay un video pero no tuve ponerlo cuando trate.
hay mas fotos para ver, tienes que 'click' por el titulo para verlos en una otra pagina.

un beso.

it's strange.

to be woken up by an uncle concerned for yr family because there was a hurricane in yr home town, without you having any idea of it.

and to go to work and be informed by yr students that your bank was urgently bought over by another to avoid a crash.

the polls bother me. i get it, we're dumb. though apparently economic crises help wake us up some.

i can watch the debates, sit hunkered over in corners of kioskos and listen to NPR. i still read. but really, i have no idea what the hell is going on in our country.

theres something that cannot be transmitted through news reels and printouts. its strange to have all your information mediated like it is for me now. how are we feeling these days? i have a curiosity to see for myself.

its strange to be here. maybe its a relief, but am i missing out on something crucial? like the end of the fucking world?? or... one of the most progressive changes in our history...!!?